Pujas | Chanted Meditations

Chanted meditations, ("pujas") are beautiful Buddhist spiritual practices that allow us to purify our negativities and gather powerful blessings of healing and good fortune from enlightened beings. This brings us ever deepening inner peace as our wisdom and compassion increase daily.

Free and open to everyone.

There is no donation requested to attend any of these chanted meditations. Please check the calendar for all dates and times.

We recite ancient prayers in English to the accompaniment of a CD with beautiful melodies that are easy to chant. We can make requests for ourselves or for others who need help or protection. People sit on chairs or on cushions on the floor, whichever they prefer.

Liberation from Sorrow ~ Prayers to Buddha Tara on the 8th of the month.

Tara is the female Buddha of Wisdom and Compassion. The 8th day of every month is dedicated to her. By offering praises and requests to the Lady Tara we increase our fearlessness and swift wisdom and come under Tara's loving care and powerful protection.

Compassion Buddha​ 1st Sunday of the month 12noon to 12:45pm

Avalokiteshvara is an enlightened being who is a manifestation of all Buddhas' compassion. By relying sincerely on Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion, and reciting his mantra with strong faith, temporarily we will improve our realizations of all the stages of the path, especially our realization of great compassion, and ultimately we will attain supreme Buddhahood in Avalokiteshvara's Pure Land.

The Great Mother ~ Meditation on the Heart Sutra2nd Sunday of the month 12noon to 12:45pm

This is a special method for averting and overcoming hindrances in general and the "mara" or "demon" of delusions in particular that involves the recitation and contemplation of the Essence of Wisdom Sutra, or Heart Sutra, which can be performed either for one’s own sake or for the benefit of others.

Offering to the Spiritual Guide (Lama Chopa)on the 25th of the month - Check calendar for time.

By engaging in this puja, we have the opportunity to mix our mind with our Spiritual Guide's enlightened blessings and inspiration and gain experience of all the stages of the spiritual path of Sutra and Tantra. This puja happens on, or close to, the 10th or 25th of every month. Please check our calendar for date time details. This includes a special community food offering called a Tsog Offering. Please bring along a small vegetarian offering for this puja.

Vajrasattva Purification MeditationCheck calendar for dates/times

The practice of cleansing our mind of all delusions and negativity by relying on Vajrasattva, the Buddha of Purification. Under the influence of deluded minds, we have engaged in many negative actions, and as a result we now experience suffering and problems everyday. But we have the opportunity to purify this negativity, and thus transform our mind and our experience of the world we live in. The meditation and recitation of Vajrasattva is a powerful practice of purification, and a quick method to attain future happiness and spiritual realizations.

Medicine Buddha Prayer Check calendar for dates/times

Medicine Buddha is a Buddha Doctor whose function is to release living beings from outer and inner sickness by bestowing blessings upon them. By relying on Medicine Buddha sincerely, we can be cured of heavy physical and mental disease, find release from the internal pain of the three poisons attachment, anger and ignorance and receive protection from many other dangers and obstacles.

The Bodhisattva's Confession of Moral DownfallsCheck calendar for dates/times

By sincerely confessing all of our harmful actions to the thirty-five Confession Buddhas, we can purify all of the negativity in our mind and thereby experience immediate and lasting peace and happiness. This practice is incredibly cleansing because it combines chanted prayers with the traditional Buddhist 'exercise' of prostrations. This puja really gets your heart moving!

Protector Pujas

A Dharma Protector is an emanation of a Buddha or a Bodhisattva whose main functions are to avert the inner and outer obstacles that prevent practitioners from gaining spiritual realizations, and to arrange all of the necessary conditions for the success of their practice.

Wisdom Buddha Dorje Shugden always helps, guides and protects Buddhist practitioners by granting blessings, increasing their wisdom, fulfilling their wishes and bestowing success on all of their virtuous activities.

Wishfulfilling Jewelabout 90 minutes on the 29th each month.

Wishfulfilling Jewel is offered on, or close to, the 10th or 25th of every month. A slightly more extensive version of Heart Jewel, usually combined with a tsog (lit. "assembly of practitioners") offering. Please feel free to bring flowers or a small vegetarian food offering to share if you wish.

Melodious Drum Pujaabout 4 hours check calendar for dates

This extensive sadhana is called "Kangso" in Tibetan, which means "Fulfilling and Restoring Ritual". During this puja, we make extensive offerings and perform other practices to fulfil our heart commitment: to rely upon the Protector sincerely, regarding him as inseparable from the Guru and Yidam (personal Tantric Deity) and to practice the pure Dharma of Lamrim (Stages of the Path), Lojong (Training the Mind) and Mahamudra.